The Wolf Underneath
by SunlightShrine
Summary: Investigative reporter Vicki Vale is known for her unwavering commitment to rooting out the ugly truths behind Gotham's corruption and poverty. But when her curiosity lands her in deep trouble, she'll be concerned about a lot more than just getting the latest dish.
1. Chapter 1: Introduction

"_Good evening Gotham. This is Vicki Vale reporting live at the Arkham City site. The siege between Harley Quinn and the GCPD is now in its second day. Minutes ago, I asked Commissioner Gordon to comment on reports that Batman himself is missing."_

"_The situation here is on-going." Jim Gordon stated, "As you can see, the GCPD is doing its best to keep the area contained."_

"_Commissioner, can you comment on reports that Batman is in Arkham City?"_

"_Last time I checked, Miss Vale, Batman did not come under my jurisdiction." _

"_Really? Are you telling Gotham that you do not unofficially sanction his activities? And what about Joker's body? Can you tell Gotham where it is?"_

_Irritated, Gordon answered, "We're done here. Get these reporters moved out of my damn sight."_

"_Rumors persist that this is some kind of retaliation over the death of the Joker two weeks ago. Arkham City is once again in a state of lock-down. If Batman is indeed in there, I hope he's safe. From my experience, Arkham City is not a place you want to find yourself trapped in. This is Vicki Vale. More, as it happens."_

* * *

My name is Victoria Vale, everyone knows me as Vicki Vale, investigative journalist and radio personality.

These past weeks, Arkham City has been the hot topic of Gotham. Naturally I was heavily involved in making reports and attempting to get to the answers of the questions surrounding this controversial prison.

The chaos within grew slowly, and when The Joker died, violence exploded all at once. Harley Quinn became absolutely out of her mind.

* * *

"_SWAT teams are now in perimeter positions and exits out to sea are being contained. I am not losing anyone else to that woman." Gordon declared._

_I still wanted to know if Batman was in Arkham City, I approached him, "Excuse me Commissioner?"_

"_Not a good time, Miss Vale." He growled, he pointed at another officer, "You! Get this reporter moved. Now."_

"_Is Batman in Arkham City?" The officer stepped in front of me and started to push me, "Hey! Keep your hands to yourself buddy! What's the secret Commissioner?! What are you trying to hide?" I protested as I was forced away._

* * *

It had been a little over a week after Harley Quinn had taken over the Industrial District of the hellish Arkham City. She was subdued by Batman and Robin, and now with their help the GCPD is preparing the place for shutdown. As well as the cancelation of future builds of these mega prisons in other cities.

As we all expected, TYGER has been disbanded and removed from power and Gotham, The GCPD had them all arrested. Now that all of the chaos in Arkham City has appeared to die down for good, all of the inmates are being rounded up to be transferred to more secure locations, all of the political prisoners were rescued, and all illegal weapons were confiscated.

I may have been pushing it a bit when I was reporting, but I was determined to get the truth. Others have told me that if I don't find a more subtle way of doing my job, I could find myself in big trouble.

Well that's just a typical occupational hazard were my thoughts on the matter. Not everyone I report on is going to enjoy being thrust into the public eye, especially when someone is a so-called, 'Person of Interest' with secrets to hide.

But this is something I had never expected.

I'm Vicki Vale, and this is my story.


	2. Chapter 2: Meetings and Suspicions

It was still early in the morning; I blow dried my hair and got dressed as I was considering my options on what to do next.

With Arkham City preparing to shut down, there wasn't much else I could report on it. I had a feeling that I wasn't going to get any more words on the topic of Arkham City, or anything regarding what happened there for that matter.

I let myself fall on the couch and turned on the television.

"Hello, my name is Conrad Blackburn. CEO and president of Blackburn Businesses." was the first thing I heard.

Another commercial about that fairly new Real estate business. As I recall, it's become the customer magnet. Largely due to Mr. Blackburn's charming and handsome attitude I bet. Now don't get me wrong, Bruce Wayne will always be at the top of my list when it comes to handsome men. But I had to agree, he was good-looking.

An idea flew into my mind, "I'll do a report on Blackburn Businesses! It is a new company after all, and even though Mr. Blackburn is reeling in the demand already; a recorded interview would definitely give an insight to his success."

He would attract more customers, and I would have an interesting story for the Gazette. Hitting two birds with one stone as everyone would call it. Plus it would be a much-needed break from all the riff-raff.

I continued watching the commercial waiting to see a phone number. When I did, I quickly wrote it down on my notepad. Next, I picked up the phone and dialed the number hoping the line wouldn't be too busy.

To my surprise I got through, answered by a perky voice, "Thank you for calling Blackburn Businesses! How may I help you today?"

"Hi, this is Vicki Vale. I'm calling to request an interview with Mr. Blackburn."

"Okay Miss Vale, please hold while I check available times."

I waited quietly, yet anxiously. After what seemed like an hour he came back, "Well Miss Vale, you're in luck! He says you're more than welcome to come in now if you're available."

I couldn't believe my luck when he said that, so of course I took the offer, "Yes, of course! Let him know I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Yes ma'am." He responded, "Have a good day Miss Vale."

I put the phone down, not sure if I hit the receiver but at the time I didn't care. I threw on my favorite white long slim dress Peacoat, grabbed my bag, slipped on my high-heeled, knee-high boots and dashed out the door.

I ran into (or nearly did in the rush I was in) one of my neighbors halfway to the exit.

"Busy day Miss Vale?" She asked me.

I flipped around and started walking backwards to answer her, "You bet! I get to interview Conrad Blackburn!" I faced forward again and heard her wishing me luck from down the hall.

The wind of winter brushed my blonde hair against my face when I exited my apartment building. I shivered from the cold when I first sat in my car. After switching on the heater as high as it would go, I drove off going exactly one mile per hour above the speed limit.

I arrived at Blackburn Industries within fifteen minutes.

Now how to describe this place… very professional, well clean and well kept. Like any good business should be. With my mind at ease, I cruised into the very large parking lot with my eyes trying to see over many cars for an open parking space.

"Geez… there's like nowhere to park…" I mumbled.

I did manage to find one… in the very last row. Figures, but at least I found one. Stepping out of my car the front doors were so small from way back here.

"Looks like I'll be walking a few miles today." I braced myself, "You just had to wear your heels today didn't you Vicki?" I asked myself, beginning my half a mile long journey. In the back of my mind, the thought of massive inevitable foot pain would follow after this.

My little hike seemed like five miles in the shoes I was in, but I made it inside. I thought about taking a minute to sit down, but I decided against it.

I approached the receptionist desk, "Hi, I'm here for Mr. Blackburn."

She looked up at me, "Oh! Hello Miss Vale, I was told you were coming. He's waiting for you on the 25th floor."

Right on cue I heard the ring of the nearby elevator. I excused myself and rushed through the doors before they could close, when I hit the button with 25 in bold numbers; another woman scurried into the elevator beside me.

"Good morning!" She greeted me between catching her breath.

"Good morning, you seem to be in a rush." I noted.

She reached for the 25th button, and noticed that I had pressed it already, "I just wanted to get in the elevator while it was open. Are you going to see Mr. Blackburn too?"

"Yes, I'm going to interview him."

She took another look at me and then realized, "Oh! I know who you are! You're Vicki Vale! The reporter! I listen to your show all the time!"

"Well thank you for your support!" My eyes glanced down to the papers she had in her arms. I saw notes of what appeared to be various money transitions and tons of letters.

The hallway I found myself in was pretty straight forward, there were doors on the left and right side and you could see large, fancy doors at the end.

"That's his office down there." The woman directed before walking into one of the offices.

Well, here we are.

With my recorder in hand I started for the office, "This is Vicki Vale reporting from Blackburn Businesses, I'm currently heading for the office right now for an interview with Mr. Blackburn himself."

At the door I paused the recording before knocking, wanting to reduce background noise.

On the other side of the door I heard a muffled curse before that familiar voice I heard from the commercial answered, "Just a second!"

I could hear things being shuffled around in a frantic manner. He must gotten a lot on his plate before I arrived. About a minute later he flung the door open.

"Sorry about that." He apologized while trying to catch his breath, "Lovely to have you here Miss Vale!"

"It's a pleasure to be here sir." We shook hands, "I hope I'm not bothering you."

"No, not at all! Please come on in and have a seat."

We sat down on a Loveseat style sofa next to folding windows giving a vast view of Gotham City.

"So what would you like to ask me Miss Vale?" he asked in a very friendly manner.

"One second." I took my recorder back out of my pocket, "I'm here now with Mr. Blackburn himself-."

I was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Mr. Blackburn sighed and called to whoever it was, "I'm busy right now! Can it wait?"

The person knocked again, this time it was much more persistent and aggressive. Mr. Blackburn groaned frustratingly.

"I am so sorry Miss Vale, please excuse me." He jumped to his feet and rushed to open the door, when he did he expressed a look of surprise on his face. He looked back at me for a split second then back to whoever was at the door.

"What are you doing here?" I could hear him whisper almost in a panicked way.

Another man adorned in a tuxedo entered the room, "I came to pick up my-." When he saw me he didn't seem too happy.

"What's Vicki Vale doing here?" He asked Mr. Blackburn angrily, "You're not-"

"SHHHH! Not so loud… come outside." He led him out the door, giving me a smile and a wave of assurance before exiting and closing the door.

Obviously I raised an eyebrow at this encounter, what is going on? I stood up quietly and inched my way to the door and listened.

I heard Mr. Blackburn say, "I didn't know she was going to want an interview okay? She called this morning."

"And you couldn't say no?" The other man retorted.

"Declining an interview would've made me look suspicious and you know it. Don't worry, everything's well hidden."

Hidden? What is he talking about?

The other man seemed to calm down, "It's just… you know how she gets when she does reports."

"Relax, it's going to be fine."

I went to sit back on the couch quickly and quietly, astounded and curious at what I had just heard. A few seconds later, Mr. Blackburn returned.

"Hey Miss Vale, I'm sorry but I have to ask you to leave."

"Wait a minute, what about our interview?" I argued.

"We can do that some other time, please." His hand directed to the door.

"Yes _Miss Vale_, please." The other man had said and repeated Mr. Blackburn's gesture.

Seeing that I probably wasn't going to get anymore words, I grabbed my purse and reluctantly left. Good luck gone sour in five minutes, I manage to get an interview with Mr. Blackburn, and I'm forced to leave.

I didn't even get to the first question…


	3. Chapter 3: Investigation

After that failed attempt at getting an interview, I decide to stop for coffee. I pulled into a Starbucks just a mile down the road. Walking in, ordering my favorite blend, and sitting down at a nearby booth, I couldn't help but wonder what had happened before I was forced out.

Whatever it was, it couldn't have been good. The way Mr. Blackburn was acting, the behavior of the other man, and the parts of that conversation that I happened to hear.

The topic of Mr. Blackburn had just gotten some additional interest points. I took out my notepad, wrote down today's date, and what happened today,

_I had an interview with Mr. Blackburn today; unfortunately I had to retreat when another man entered the room. Both Mr. Blackburn and this other man were acting suspicious. They're hiding something… I can tell. _

Frustrated, and with a grocery list. I put my notepad in my bag, grabbed my coffee, and left.

"I was motivated to find the deal with Strange. Then tell the world what was going on!" I recognized Jack Ryder's voice coming from the next aisle.

Me and him go way back, acting as rival journalists. From what I hear, the main reason why he wanted out of Arkham City was to make sure I didn't surpass him.

"If it's a drive you can stay alive on then whatever works." I chuckled lightly to myself and continued getting what I needed.

After checking out I chose to call Blackburn Businesses again. I took shelter from the cold in my car and I dialed the number.

I got the same person somehow, "Hello! Thank you for calling Blackburn Businesses! How may I help you?"

"Hi, it's Vicki Vale."

"Well, hello again. What can I do for you?"

"I need to request another interview with Conrad Blackburn."

He sounded confused, "Didn't you have one with him this morning Miss Vale?"

"I tried to… but I didn't even get to ask the first question. Some other man came into the room, and they forced me out."

He paused, and then asked, "Oh, I apologize for that Miss Vale. I will ask him again."

After a few seconds I got this reply, "I'm sorry Miss Vale, but he's out on his lunch break right now. Call back in an hour." Then I was startled by the sound of the phone slamming down.

"What is going on?" I asked myself out loud. Deciding I didn't want to wait until I was invited, I set my eyes on my next destination.

Blackburn Industries.

* * *

The Dark Knight and his assistant Robin watched from atop a roof the cleaning up of Arkham City. Group by group prisoners were led into the inmate vans and cop cars to be taken elsewhere.

"Looks like progress is going well." Robin mentioned.

Bruce said nothing, continuing to supervise the activity. No doubt he was still deep in thought over everything that's happened.

Robin was well aware that his mentor was still emotionally recovering over the death of Talia and Joker. Understandable, that's not something you can recuperate from overnight.

This prison didn't just cause Batman grief and anguish; the political prisoners who survived are now having to deal with symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. As for others who weren't lucky enough to survive this ordeal, their poor families are now in mourning.

"_Hopefully the shutdown of Arkham City will bring some solace…"_

* * *

When I came back to Blackburn Industries, I was fortunate to get a parking spot much closer than the one I got before. Like before I went inside, got in the elevator and off to the highest floor I went.

I came out of the elevator started for his office and started for his office when I bumped into someone coming out the door.

"Excuse me I'm sorry." The person apologized, "Hey, you're Vicki Vale!" He recognized.

"That's me." I confirmed, "Please excuse me I need to see Mr. Blackburn."

"He's out on his lunch break right now." He called out to me as I walked away.

"I'll just wait for him." I answered.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you! He's got some stuff in there he says is confidential!"

Confidential? Now what could that be? I ignored the man and kept on going. Whatever Blackburn is keeping confidential I couldn't help but think it had something to do with that irate man that came in while I was there earlier, and the suspicious behavior that both men exhibited.

Now this I HAVE to find out.


	4. Chapter 4: An Unpleasant Surprise

Curious, I crept right into those large doors. Sure enough, he wasn't there. What the man had said seemed to be true. There were a lot of papers out on his desk, cluttered and messy.

"You would think that a CEO would be a bit more organized." I muttered to myself.

Approaching the desk I started reading the first paper my eyes just happened to lay on. What I read was more than a little suspicious.

The paper had recorded a money transfer, a whole lot of money for that matter. But there was something about this that raised my eyebrow. The recipient account did not seem legit. Following my gut, I went over to some file cabinets and pulled out the folder labeled company records.

My instinct was correct; the receiving account did not match any company records. So why is he sending money there?

Moving the transfer paper revealed more recordings of money transfer, I looked through all of the records and checked them twice. None of the recipients were within the company, they didn't even seem like they would be in any other company either!

"What is going on here?"

The door had suddenly swung open before I could do any further research, Mr. Blackburn and I both exhibited a startled jolt along with a brief yelp of surprise.

"What in the world are you doing in here!?" His eyes were wild and he had the posture of a frantic person.

I snapped back into my 'reporter mode' and got right to business, "Would you mind telling me what these accounts are for Mr. Blackburn? Who are you sending these large amounts of corporation money to?"

"I'm doing some work with Wayne Enterprises."

I became more interested, "What kind of work?"

"It's private." He replied in a gruff voice, "Now get out of here." He shouted, "Security! Get this reporter out of here!"

Two men rushed into the room, "Let's go ma'am." One of them said.

"Hey! Hands off! What's your work for Wayne Enterprises Conrad? What are you up too?" I yelled out to him as the guards pushed me out.

So that's how I got thrown out of Blackburn Businesses. It was quite shall I say… embarrassing. I had two uniformed and armed men holding both of my arms and walking so fast that I was stumbling repeatedly in my boots. Naturally there were people looking at us like, 'Whoa…'

The first thing I did when I got into my car was call Wayne Enterprises to confirm what Mr. Blackburn had told me.

As I feared, Mr. Blackburn was telling me a lie. He was not in collaboration with Wayne Enterprises. When I mentioned to the operator what Conrad had told me, he blatantly had stated to me that Mr. Blackburn was telling me a tall tale.

I stepped out of my car to go back to his office and confront him, but when I got to the double doors the security guards that had thrown me out stopped me.

"I'm sorry Miss Vale, but Mr. Blackburn says that he does not wish to have any more association with you."

The second guard explained, "When he found you going through his personal files, he was a bit unpleased."

"What is going on!?" I questioned them, "If he has nothing to hide then why is he turning me away and lying to me!?"

I did not care that the eyes of everyone in that room were on us.

"Miss Vale, if you do not leave the premises now we will have you arrested for trespassing."

Frustrated and clearly defeated, I left in a huff. While this is not the first time I've been threatened with trespassing charges, I was angry.

There was no way I was going to be brushed aside easily; I was going to use the best of my abilities to figure out what in the world is going on.

* * *

I decided to take a quick stroll through Jezebel Plaza to cool off. I'll be able to work much more efficiently if I were calm and collected.

The plaza wasn't too crowded during this time of day, so the lights and sounds seemed a little more gentle-inducing.

"Victoria!" I was unexpectedly seen by my neighbor Clarice.

"Oh Clarice! What's going on? Haven't seen you since I almost bumped into you this morning!" I joked.

"Well I wasn't expecting to see you here. Is everything okay?"

"Whatever do you mean?" I wondered.

"I keep hearing all over the city that you got kicked out of Blackburn Industries. What happened?"

After looking around to assure that no one was around, I told her everything. From the suspicious money transfers, to the lies, and to him making an effort to stay away from me afterward.

She seemed astounded, "Wow, I'm sorry that happened to you."

I nodded.

"I walked by the gazette today and I saw your co-worker, Jack Ryder. He told me about it."

"Is that so?" I replied, "Well he and I never got along, he was probably boasting."

"Maybe... Well, if you think Mr. Blackburn is hiding something. Do whatever you can to find that out, no doubt the public is going to have to figure it out."

"That's what I plan to do." I guaranteed, "I will find out."

* * *

As the sun sank from the view of my apartment window that evening, my phone rang. I quickly rushed to answer it.

"Hello?"

I was surprised at the voice I heard, "Vicki Vale?"

"Mr. Blackburn?"

"Yes, I was hoping to clear some things up with you."

Attention, caught.

"Of course! There are some things I want to know!"

Instead he replied, "Now, I don't want to talk about this over the phone. How about you come to my house tomorrow morning? We can talk about this there."

I was so intent on getting information that I did not hesitate to accept his invitation, "Yes sir! What time should I come by?"

"I actually have tomorrow off, so anytime for you is fine with me."

"Okay… please hold." I ran to grab my appointment book and saw the first available time, "How about at 11 a.m. tomorrow."

"Yes ma'am, I'll see you then. I'll text you my address first thing in the morning."

"Okay sure." I agreed, "I'll be there."

As I hung up, now at ease that everything would be all right and that I was finally going to get some things cleared up.

* * *

The next morning, as promised, I received a text message containing an address. Along with a reminder that I was to be there at 11 a.m.

An hour before, I left my apartment with directions that I had printed out from the internet. I didn't know what to expect, but I was excited at the possibilities.

With the traffic it took me about forty-five minutes to get to the neighborhood his house was in, so I was a teensy bit early. It was a good thing I left when I did.

The neighborhood itself was pretty affluent, not surprising for someone like Mr. Blackburn.

Finally I had reached his house, when I stepped out of my car, his house was SO nice that I was shortly left standing there in awe.

I walked up to the door and knocked using the fancy looking door knocker he had. There was no answer. I knocked on it again after a minute and I heard him yell, "Come in!"

So I came in.

My first thoughts were, _"Wow… nice place he has here."_

Then… I was hit from behind, knocked to the floor.

I sat upright and was face to face with that angry man that had come into the office the other day when Mr. Blackburn and I had scheduled our first meeting.

"What do you think you're doing!?"

"Shut up!" And another whack from a belt was the only response I got. I tried to get up but he shoved me back down. Another guy came from out of nowhere and helped him hold me down, then a third guy came in and tied my hands and legs together. After that I was hoisted up and dragged into the living room.

He pushed me down onto this fine leather upholstery couch. Where Mr. Blackburn was sitting in a matching chair across from me.

"What is going on here!?" I demanded to know.

He smiled the cockiest smile I have ever seen in my life, "Oh Miss Vale... you just had to be little miss curiosity didn't you?"

"What are you talking about?"

He stood up and casually walked around, "You see… when you found those papers I was… quite startled. I thought I could lie my way out of the situation, but I should've known with you that would never work."

"Why are you doing this Conrad?"

He crouched in front of me and leaned in close to my face, "Why? For money of course! Blackburn Industries is just a cover for what I have planned. As CEO of the company with a little bit of strategy I can steal money without anyone noticing. Making short term investments to the gang I had initiated recently."

I felt my blood run cold, "You… have gang affiliations!? And you're using the company to supply your gang with money!?"

He laughed, "You're such a quick learner Miss Vale, and it's almost amusing. The best part is there's nothing anyone could do about it! Because no one will ever find out!"

I didn't even know what to say I was so chilled.

"One more thing…" He closed in on my face again, "If you dare breathe one word of this to anyone… I will come for you… and I will do very… horrible… things… got it?"

I shook my head implying yes. I was so out of breath from all of this revelation that I couldn't speak.

"Can we have her now Conrad?" A guy behind me had asked.

"Take her." Conrad confirmed.

"Wait… what!?" I didn't have any say in this, as I was grabbed again and forced into another room.

"I've always wanted to do this Vicki Vale! Never liked you, you annoying little bitch!" He threw me against the wall and I fell backwards onto the ground.

I was kicked, slapped, choked, and thrown against the wall repeatedly. While I was crying in pain, they were laughing in amusement. In the midst of this horrible assault... I had… felt like my soul was ripped out. Almost like I was experiencing this out-of-body experience. It was a nightmare, one that I was unable to wake from.

Finally, when they were finished. They gave me a terrifying reminder of what Conrad had told me.

"Remember what the boss told you… Don't tell anyone. You better not tell anyone… Or else."

They left the room and remained in the house, leaving me there on the floor, beaten and bleeding. I didn't know what was going to happen next, I just knew this one thing.

"_I gotta get out of here…"_

I used my teeth to untie the knots keeping my wrists together, then I was able to untie my legs.

I picked up my purse, fished my car keys out, and made a break for it. Out of the bedroom, through the living room, and out the door.

"Hey! HEY!" I heard Conrad shouting.

I jumped in my car, not bothering to put my seat belt on I started my car and floored it out of there. Blowing stop signs, running reds, and going WAY above the speed limit I was lucky no cops were around the whole way home. The only thing that happened was the frequent screeching and irritated honks from the other cars.

It seemed like an eternity but I finally made it back to my apartment complex. I ran from my car straight to my room, some people tried to speak to me but I just kept running.

When I arrived back in my room I slammed and locked the door. After pausing for a brief moment to catch my breath I went into the bathroom to clean up.

That feeling of sheer confusion, with a mix of shock and fear.

"What just happened?"

* * *

**Author's Note: Hi everyone it's me!**

**I just wanted to say that this is my first time writing in the Crime genre. So please forgive me if things seem weird! Hope you enjoyed this ****nonetheless. :) I've always wanted to write a story about Vicki Vale getting into trouble over her curiosity and I'm quite happy with how this is going so far!**

**Thank you :D **


	5. Chapter 5: Red Flags

Even though the sun had come up clear and bright the next day, the light was dim and dark in my mind. Still frightened over yesterday's events, no idea I was about to become a pawn in a sick, twisted game. I desperately wanted to tell someone… anyone.

My usual habit of being so outright and bold in my reports, I didn't feel that way this morning. But I was NOT going to let him silence me. After my typical morning routine (using a bit extra makeup to hide the bruises and redness on my face) I left my apartment for a trip to the Gotham Gazette, ready to spill the beans.

When I had my car running, I noticed that I was a teaspoon away from being out of gas. I guess driving like a maniac yesterday guzzled the gas.

So I stopped at the gas station a few blocks from my apartment complex, the station was unoccupied so I just pulled into the nearest one near the exit road and prepared to pay. As I paid and prepared to fill my car, I noticed another car pull in out of the corner of my eye.

I didn't give it any heed until I heard that unpleasant voice, "Hey Vicki!"

_"Oh no…"_

Conrad and his friends had caught me at the gas station, and they had an ugly reminder for me. They crowded all around me and he let me know, "Remember what we told you yesterday, if you tell anyone about this we will come after you. It won't be a good way either."

"Yeah, we will." One of his buddies said.

They glared for a few seconds before leaving. I watched them drive away, relieved that they were gone. I had only put about a gallon in my car. I was in a hurry to leave, afraid that they would decide to come back. With haste, I hurried off to the Gazette.

Parallel parking; never my favorite thing to do.

But because the streets were considerably swarming with residents and cars around the gazette I had become quite skilled at it.

"Good morning Miss Vale!" I was always greeted at the gazette by my co-worker, Terry. He has a night shift, and my hours there bring me to show up just before he clocks out.

"Hello, good morning. I have a great story."

"Oh is that so? Well I would love to-"

The obnoxious bass thumping from someone's car was so loud we had to quit conversing to cover our ears. I looked out of the glass door and saw a sports car, I recognized the driver and passenger as some of Conrad's thugs.

I dreaded, _"Don't tell me..."_

They subjected me to their stares of evil before screeching off, leaving skid marks in the lot.

"Good grief, you wonder how these punks are still able to hear…" Terry joked, completely unaware of my distress.

I gave a small chuckle, "Well, this city. You know how crazy it gets."

He gave me a friendly smile, "I better take off now. By the way, Lucy called in sick so it's just you and Jack here for now."

"Oh, goody." I sarcastically remarked. Causing Terry to laugh as he left.

I now felt comfortable sitting down and writing my story, I went to my area to do just that.

But I couldn't, I heard the front door open. I felt an alarmed rush seeing another one of Conrad's crew enter, and take a seat in the waiting area. To make things creepier, he stared at me the entire time.

I looked away for a few minutes to get my things ready; in that time he had come up to my door and spoke in a low voice, "You better not be writing about what happened."

"Get out of here." I calmly demanded.

That was it for him, he stepped in and grabbed the back of my hair, "I don't think you understand us Vicki, we gotta make sure you don't get this out in anyway."

Feeling like I was in danger I started calling out, "Jack! Jack!"

The hooligan quickly let me go and ran out of the gazette. Jack came in about a moment later, "What? What is it?"

I glanced outside and realized that punk was still loitering outside, and he was accompanied by a few others. For the first time in a long time, I felt fear. Real honest fear, that feeling you get when your life is in danger.

I quickly thought of another reason, "Did… did you pick up any sunglasses the other day? I think I left them here." I faked rummaging through my purse.

"You mean the ones on your head?" He nonchalantly replied. In my panic I forgot they were there.

"Oh these?" I felt them in my hair, "These are spares, you know? A back-up pair."

He shrugged, "Whatever, I didn't see anything. Listen I got work to do, try not to make so much noise okay?" Then left for his work station.

I was disgruntled at his unsolicited dismissal of me, then again I always am. Considering on how _'well'_ we usually get along. Like it or not we are co-workers, we have to get along at least sometimes.

I turned to the window, they were still there! What the heck!? I get the message already! I felt like I had no other choice, I had to do what they said.

I can't believe this… Here I am being intimidated into silence. I'm Vicki Vale! Since when have I been in a situation like this? Oh that's right, never.

All I had to do was stay calm, that's it. I had an idea, if I just wait it out. They'll lose interest and leave me alone. When they do, I'll expose them like a shaven dog!

"_I just have to wait…"_


End file.
